British United Island Airways
Encyclopedia
British United Island Airways (BUIA) was formed in November 1968 as part of a reorganisation of the BUA group of companies. It was a regional sister airline
of British United Airways
(BUA), Britain
's largest wholly private, independentindependent from government-owned corporation
s airline of the 1960s. It operated a network of regional, short-haul scheduled routes linking a variety of destinations within Europe
, including year-round services from both Channel Islands
to BUA's Gatwick
base.
BUIA's origins could be traced to the BUA group's acquisition of Jersey Airlines
and Silver City Airways in 1962. BUA's management amalgamated the Channel Islands scheduled passenger and freight services of these airlines (named the Duchess Services by Jersey Airlines) and Silver City's northern division to create a single airline, BUA (C.I.).
BUIA's creation followed the BUA group's 1968 reorganisation. It involved merging the operations of Channels Islands based BUA (C.I.), Isle of Man
based British United (Manx) Airways and Morton Air Services
.
When British & Commonwealth (B&C), the BUA group's majority shareholder, decided to sell BUA to Caledonian Airways
in November 1970, BUIA was not part of this deal. Prior to BUA's sale to Caledonian, BUIA changed its name to British Island Airways
(BIA).
BUIA's main operating bases were at Gatwick, Southampton
, Blackpool, Exeter
, Jersey
and the Isle of Man
. Services from Gatwick and Southampton to the Channel islands and from Blackpool to the Isle of Man and Belfast
operated year-round. All other services were seasonal summer only services. Dublin
and Paris Orly
were among the international destinations served.
BUIA competed with British European Airways
(BEA) on scheduled routes linking London
with the two main Channel Islands of Jersey
and Guernsey
. While BUIA's flights used Gatwick as their London terminal, BEA served these routes from Heathrow
.
In addition to scheduled and non-scheduled passenger services, BUIA also operated all-cargo services — both scheduled and non-scheduled. Düsseldorf
was one of the international scheduled freight destinations.
BUIA gradually retired older piston airliner
s and mainline turboprop
s it inherited from BUA at the time of its creation. By 1968, BUIA had operated its last DC-3
passenger flight. Eventually, all passenger flights were operated with Herald
turboprops, while a small number of DC-3s was retained for freight services and as backup aircraft.
B&C's disenchantment with BUA's financial performance resulted in the sale of BUA to the Scottish charter airline Caledonian Airways on 30 November 1970. This sale specifically excluded BUIA. It therefore became a wholly owned subsidiary of B&C, which had taken direct control following its divestment of BUA. In July 1970 BUIA changed its name to British Island Airways (BIA) and adopted a new livery
.
BUIA employed 600 people at this time.
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
of British United Airways
British United Airways
British United Airways was a private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airline formed as a result of the merger of Airwork Services and Hunting-Clan Air Transport in July 1960, making it the largest wholly private airline based in the United Kingdom at the time...
(BUA), Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's largest wholly private, independentindependent from government-owned corporation
Government-owned corporation
A government-owned corporation, state-owned company, state-owned entity, state enterprise, publicly owned corporation, government business enterprise, or parastatal is a legal entity created by a government to undertake commercial activities on behalf of an owner government...
s airline of the 1960s. It operated a network of regional, short-haul scheduled routes linking a variety of destinations within Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, including year-round services from both Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
to BUA's Gatwick
London Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport is located 3.1 miles north of the centre of Crawley, West Sussex, and south of Central London. Previously known as London Gatwick,In 2010, the name changed from London Gatwick Airport to Gatwick Airport...
base.
BUIA's origins could be traced to the BUA group's acquisition of Jersey Airlines
Jersey Airlines
Jersey Airlines was an early post-World War II private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airline formed in 1948. In 1952, the airline operated its first scheduled service. Four years later, British European Airways took a 25% minority stake in Jersey Airlines and...
and Silver City Airways in 1962. BUA's management amalgamated the Channel Islands scheduled passenger and freight services of these airlines (named the Duchess Services by Jersey Airlines) and Silver City's northern division to create a single airline, BUA (C.I.).
BUIA's creation followed the BUA group's 1968 reorganisation. It involved merging the operations of Channels Islands based BUA (C.I.), Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
based British United (Manx) Airways and Morton Air Services
Morton Air Services
Morton Air Services was one of the earliest post-World War II private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airlines formed in 1945. It mainly operated regional short-haul scheduled services within the British Isles and between the United Kingdom and Continental Europe....
.
When British & Commonwealth (B&C), the BUA group's majority shareholder, decided to sell BUA to Caledonian Airways
Caledonian Airways
Caledonian Airways was a wholly private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations Scottish charter airline formed in April 1961. It began with a single Douglas DC-7C leased from Sabena. Caledonian grew rapidly over the coming years to become the leading transatlantic "affinity...
in November 1970, BUIA was not part of this deal. Prior to BUA's sale to Caledonian, BUIA changed its name to British Island Airways
British Island Airways
British Island Airways was the legal successor to British United Island Airways . It commenced operations under that name in mid-1970. Ten years later it merged with Air Anglia, Air Wales and Air Westward to form Air UK, at the time the UK's biggest regional airline and its third-largest scheduled...
(BIA).
History
BUIA commenced operations on 1 November 1968 as a wholly owned subsidiary of BUA (Holdings) Ltd, taking over BUA's regional domestic and international routes, the majority of which served the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man on a seasonal basis.BUIA's main operating bases were at Gatwick, Southampton
Southampton Airport
Southampton Airport is the 20th largest airport in the UK, located north north-east of Southampton, in the Borough of Eastleigh within Hampshire, England....
, Blackpool, Exeter
Exeter International Airport
Exeter International Airport is an airport located at Clyst Honiton in the District of East Devon close to the city of Exeter and within the county of Devon, South West England....
, Jersey
Jersey Airport
-Busiest routes:Some airlines offer services between Jersey and other destinations with an intermediate stop at Guernsey. There are also periodic charter flights to European holiday destinations, Madeira and ski destinations operated by airlines such as Aurigny Air Services, Europe Airpost, Palmair...
and the Isle of Man
Isle of Man Airport
Isle of Man Airport , also known as Ronaldsway Airport and, in Manx, Purt Aer Vannin, is the main civilian airport on the Isle of Man. It is located in the south of the island at Ronaldsway near Castletown, southwest of Douglas, the island's capital. Along with the Isle of Man Sea Terminal, it is...
. Services from Gatwick and Southampton to the Channel islands and from Blackpool to the Isle of Man and Belfast
Belfast International Airport
Belfast International Airport is a major airport located northwest of Belfast in Northern Ireland. It was formerly known and is still referred to as Aldergrove Airport, after the village of the same name lying immediately to the west of the airport. Belfast International shares its runways with...
operated year-round. All other services were seasonal summer only services. Dublin
Dublin Airport
Dublin Airport, , is operated by the Dublin Airport Authority. Located in Collinstown, in the Fingal part of County Dublin, 18.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010, making it the busiest airport in the Republic of Ireland, followed by Cork and Shannon...
and Paris Orly
Orly Airport
Paris-Orly Airport is an airport located partially in Orly and partially in Villeneuve-le-Roi, south of Paris, France. It has flights to cities in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean, North America and Southeast Asia. Prior to the construction of Charles de Gaulle Airport, Orly was...
were among the international destinations served.
BUIA competed with British European Airways
British European Airways
British European Airways or British European Airways Corporation was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. The airline operated European and North African routes from airports around the United Kingdom...
(BEA) on scheduled routes linking London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with the two main Channel Islands of Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
and Guernsey
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
. While BUIA's flights used Gatwick as their London terminal, BEA served these routes from Heathrow
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
.
In addition to scheduled and non-scheduled passenger services, BUIA also operated all-cargo services — both scheduled and non-scheduled. Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
was one of the international scheduled freight destinations.
BUIA gradually retired older piston airliner
Airliner
An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft for transporting passengers and cargo. Such aircraft are operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an aircraft intended for carrying multiple passengers in commercial...
s and mainline turboprop
Turboprop
A turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller using a reduction gear.The gas turbine is designed specifically for this application, with almost all of its output being used to drive the propeller...
s it inherited from BUA at the time of its creation. By 1968, BUIA had operated its last DC-3
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
passenger flight. Eventually, all passenger flights were operated with Herald
Handley Page Dart Herald
The Handley Page Dart Herald was a 1950s British turboprop passenger aircraft.-Design and development:In the mid 1950s the Handley Page Aircraft Company developed a new fast short-range regional airliner, intended to replace the venerable Douglas DC-3, particularly in third-world countries...
turboprops, while a small number of DC-3s was retained for freight services and as backup aircraft.
B&C's disenchantment with BUA's financial performance resulted in the sale of BUA to the Scottish charter airline Caledonian Airways on 30 November 1970. This sale specifically excluded BUIA. It therefore became a wholly owned subsidiary of B&C, which had taken direct control following its divestment of BUA. In July 1970 BUIA changed its name to British Island Airways (BIA) and adopted a new livery
Aircraft livery
Aircraft livery is a paint scheme applied to an aircraft, generally to fuselage, wings, empennage , or jet engines. Most airlines have a standard paint scheme for their aircraft fleet, usually prominently displaying the airline logo or name. From time to time special liveries are introduced, for...
.
Aircraft fleet details
At the time of its inception, BUIA operated the following aircraft types:- de Havilland DH 114 HeronDe Havilland HeronThe de Havilland DH.114 Heron was a small, propeller-driven British airliner that first flew on 10 May 1950. It was a development of the twin-engine de Havilland Dove, with a stretched fuselage and two more engines. It was designed as a rugged, conventional low-wing monoplane with tricycle...
- Douglas DC-3Douglas DC-3The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
/C-47
- Handley Page HPR 7 Dart HeraldHandley Page Dart HeraldThe Handley Page Dart Herald was a 1950s British turboprop passenger aircraft.-Design and development:In the mid 1950s the Handley Page Aircraft Company developed a new fast short-range regional airliner, intended to replace the venerable Douglas DC-3, particularly in third-world countries...
- Vickers ViscountVickers ViscountThe Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...
Fleet in 1969
In April 1969 BUIA's fleet comprised 14 aircraft (7 turboprops + 7 piston airliners).| Aircraft | Number |
|---|---|
| Handley Page HPR 7 Dart Herald 200 Handley Page Dart Herald The Handley Page Dart Herald was a 1950s British turboprop passenger aircraft.-Design and development:In the mid 1950s the Handley Page Aircraft Company developed a new fast short-range regional airliner, intended to replace the venerable Douglas DC-3, particularly in third-world countries... |
7 |
| Douglas DC-3 Dakota Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made... |
4 |
| de Havilland DH 114 Heron De Havilland Heron The de Havilland DH.114 Heron was a small, propeller-driven British airliner that first flew on 10 May 1950. It was a development of the twin-engine de Havilland Dove, with a stretched fuselage and two more engines. It was designed as a rugged, conventional low-wing monoplane with tricycle... |
3 |
| Total | 14 |
BUIA employed 600 people at this time.